Eternal Damnation; Batman / the Joker - part 1

"If he tried it before, I doubt he'd want to do it again Bruce. We're talking about a crazy man. Think about it - there's a million different things that he can do which would be more effective," I protested, my hands gripping on the top of the black leather seat.

Bruce turned his head around to face me. "Then what do you suggest they're going to do?"

My eyes went up to the big screen in front of us. It was split into five different sections - each section providing information about a different vial - but barely anything. The mix and codes of the mixtures were too complex for even the computer.

"Whatever it is - it's going to be our demise," I said, turning my head back to see the little boy sitting pretty close to me, cross - legged, a small silver tray in his lap. He didn't seem to be paying attention, or caring about anything we said. He was too busy picking at his waffles. It brought a small smile to my face.

"We need to figure out what he's going to do soon. Everything seems to be going as according to plan," Bruce said thoughtfully, leaning forward to take a better look at the screen.

"Master Wayne - there's nothing you can do about it now. Not even as Batman,” Alfred suddenly said. Bruce and I turned our heads to look at the old man. He had a point. If Bruce tried something during broad daylight as Batman - it'd be somewhat suspicious. Not like he hasn't tried it before though. But ... with the Joker bringing all the criminals in Gotham to join him with this task - it wouldn't be safe. Like Alfred said: not even as Batman.

"Have any better ideas Alfred?" Bruce questioned, getting up from the seat, walking right past the young child. He stopped in front of the long glass cylinder where his suit was kept. "I'll wait till nightfall - then the quest begins"

"And for now Ms. Harper, you should be out gathering your belongings. I suppose you're staying a number of nights here at the manor?"

Taken aback a bit I turned my attention to Bruce. "Um ... would that be alright?"

- - - - - -

"I cannot believe you bought these without telling me! Bruce - that's so stupid!" I complained, sitting in the front seat. The young boy, who we figured out, was named Jayden in the back. "I mean, honestly! What if I didn't like these? That would've been a complete waste of money"

"But you do like them!" Jayden mentioned from the back, clapping his hands together, a huge smile on his face.

"The young man has a point" Bruce agreed, knowing that if he stuck with the child’s opinion he wouldn't get yelled at anymore.

"You're unbelievable," I muttered, focusing my eyes out the window.

Various buildings passed by as Bruce drove the Lamborghini. Suddenly, my eyes stared at a store. A store much to my liking. I smiled a bit, hearing the engine cut off and Bruce's door opening. The back door opened as Bruce leaned in and scooped Jayden in his arms. I got out once I heard the door shut.

Walking into the building beside Bruce with Jayden in his arms made a thought race. I looked up at Bruce, my lips parted slightly, wanting to point it out, but closed them, knowing that right now would be the worst time.

The small bell rang as we entered the store. A young girl behind the counter turned our way. Her eyes instantly lit up seeing the millionaire with a child in his arms. Quickly, she made her way over to us. "Mr. Wayne - how good to see you" She then focused her eyes on the small child and gasped - totally fake. "And who is this little handsome man?" she chirped. My eyes rolled as I walked to the other side of the room.

I turned my head back and noticed Bruce was still chatting with the lady who was obviously trying to flirt with him. It disgusted me. No - it's not what you're thinking. It's not because of jealously or anything. Hell, why would I be jealous? I don't owe him or anything. It disgusted me the way girls went for the most handsome, rich man they could possibly get their hands on. And by the looks of it, this girl had a chance.

"Miss?" The voice startled my slightly. Abruptly being pulled from my thoughts I turned around, coming face to face with a man. He looked young - around my age. I backed away slightly, realizing our faces were a bit too close together. "Do you need any help finding something?"

"Uh - no, I was just browsing," I replied, smiling a bit. "But obviously that lunatic has lost his freaking mind," i muttered under my breath, looking in Bruce's direction. I could tell he was having a blast, chatting with that woman.

"I'm sorry - what was that?"

"Oh! Uh - nothing, nothing. Sorry" I quickly apologized, turning around, feeling my cheeks burn up from embarrassment.

Slowly, I walked down the side of the wall, examining different articles of clothing. Yeah - I wasn't doing it properly, but obviously I didn’t want to look at them. My mind still had the picture of the man I had just met. He was tall, maybe 6'0. His skin was perfectly tan - and it didn't look like those fake tanners - it seemed real. Now his eyes, they were a nice pale blue that stood out under his black whisks of hair that covered his eyes, slightly. Damn, not that I think of it - he was actually pretty hott.

"Maybe you can tell me what you're looking for? I could help you find some amazing pieces," he offered, a hint of begging in his eyes.

I turned around once more, this time, less quickly; knowing who it was that was calling out to me. The bottom of my dress flared out a bit.

"I'm basically looking for ... anything nice - and a lot of it," I told him, tilting my head and raising my eyebrows a bit. "Know of anything?"

The man laughed lightly and took hold of my hand. I bit down on my bottom lip lightly, now becoming one of those girls that I despised. It was clear to me that I was acting the way I did because he was good looking. I shrugged my shoulders, knowing that I was still nothing like the girl talking to Bruce who wanted to sleep with him. Or ... at least that's what it looked like.

~ ~ ~ ~

3RD PERSON'S POV

Bruce's eyes would wander off every now and then to the girl he had brought in the store with him. She seemed to be flirting with the man she was now with - another worker. It had been quite obvious to him that the girl in front of him was flirting non-stop but he didn't stop her. He wanted to see how it would affect Felicity.

Too bad it had steered her in the wrong direction.

The question of whether or not she was actually starting to like the man she was with, or if she was just using him to get back at him was floating around in his mind. He wasn't even paying attention to the woman who stood before him.

All his focus was on the girl who was at the back of the room, now in a tight little t-shirt and a pair of loose jeans. Normally, this would look average on a girl. But no - not on Felicity. To Bruce, she looked stunning; to him, she was living proof that goddesses do exist.

"AHH! No way!" Felicity squealed before bursting out into a fit of laughter. She smiled widely, placing a hand on his upper arm, trying to support herself before she fell over.

Something inside Bruce Wayne snapped - something that never happened because of the cause of another girl; not even with Rachel Dawes. Instantly, he looked into the sales girls eyes and put up his hand. "It's been nice chatting with you, but I have to attend to somewhere else," he said, concluding their little meeting.

~ ~ ~ ~

FELICITY'S POV

Before I even knew it, Bruce was standing behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. Jayden was standing at his side, holding onto his pant leg.

"Oh - is this your boyfriend?" the man asked me, eyeing Bruce.

Red crawled up and spread throughout my cheeks. Bruce tightened his grip around me. I felt my heart pound inside my chest.

"Oh - uh, Bruce? N-no, he's just a friend," I replied. Bruce's grip tightened even more. I could feel my bones in my torso begin to crumble. "A very understanding friend, who won't kill me because I have a date this weekend," I suddenly said through gritted teeth.

"What?"

I turned around in Bruce's arms, coming face to face with him. "What?"

"Mommy!"

My eyes fell down to the ground seeing Jayden reaching upwards. I smiled, Bruce finally releasing his grip, allowing me to bend down to pick Jayden up into my arms.

"You have a son?" the man who accompanied me asked, an eyebrow cocked.

"Yeah, but ... not biological," I replied, bouncing slightly, the young boy going up and down slightly. It made him squeal with happiness as he clapped his hands together once more. The small responses made me laugh lightly, pulling him closer to me.

"Actually, we adopted him," Bruce corrected, walking up to the man, holding his hand out. "Bruce Wayne"

"Damien Johnson," he replied, shaking Bruce's hand.

The tension between the two was awfully noticeable. I looked around, noticing no one was in the store except for us. I ran into the dressing room and pulled all the clothes I tried on into my arms.

"Alright, so I'll see you in a couple of days, right?" I questioned, knowing the answer.

Damien chuckled softly and nodded. "It's a date."

"So don't be late!" I joked back, laughing at how stupid it was to say. Not that I really cared.

"I won't make you wait!" he laughed back.

Bruce rolled his eyes and took hold of my arm. "Enough with the rhymes - we get it!"

- - - - - -

"Why do you have to behave like that?" I questioned, slight infuriated.

"Behave like what? I'm just trying to protect you Felicity!"

"Oh - really? So, that's your way of protecting people, huh?"

"I don't see what I did wrong!"

I groaned loudly and slapped my hands down on my lap. The anger inside of me was pouring out quickly. Never have I been this mad at Bruce before.

"Are you oblivious to your own doing?! You were attacking him with every shot you could get at! How does that fall into the category of protecting Bruce? Especially when you don't even know the person. Incase you haven't noticed - you don't owe me!"

"You're taking this way out of proportion"

"I'm taking this out of proportion? No Bruce! You took it out of proportion when you basically told him to burn in hell. Honestly, can't I just have a simple conversation without you butting in?"

"Is that what you call a conversation? Because it looked like he was trying to get something more than just conversation out of you!" Bruce snapped back, his voice rising.

"You are being hypocritical now! What about that girl Bruce, huh? That one who was hanging off your arm like a your own personal playmate!"

"I have to keep my image! Things are going to look suspicious"

"You already crossed that line Bruce! You crossed it when you walked into that store with me and Jayden. Don't you think people are going to wander why multimillionaire, Bruce Wayne, has as baby on his shoulder? Don't you think you should be protecting him more than me?"

"Mommy ...?" a soft whisper came from the back.

Instantly, I shut up and looked out the window.

"What is it Jayden?" Bruce replied instead.

"Why is mommy mad at you?"

"It's nothing Jayden"